Promise
by Project Clu-Clu
Summary: Christmas AU where Lelouch makes a promise he intends to keep, no matter how long it will take.


**A/N: Funny, but I'd actually be interested in developing this into a full story. Like I have an idea and everything for it. Ah, but whatever. And... I just want to thank everyone for their support and being so patient with me, especially after what happened with _The Legacy_. (I've also come to realize the worth of my writing, which is... Not as much as I thought it would be due to... A discovery and a realization. But thank you for letting me realize the truth).**

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><p><strong>Promise<strong>

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><p>"Promise me you'll be good, Julius. Promise me you'll be good to your mother and that you'll protect her until Papa comes back."<p>

"I promise," solemnly replied the 6-year-old. "I'll protect Maman until you come home."

"Good. Be kind to your sister and listen to your mother. Even if she tells you to do something you don't want to, remember that all that she does is for your sake."

"Yes, sir."

Julius closed his eyes as his father kissed him on the forehead and smoothed his hair before standing up. Steam swirled all around the train station as his grandmother called for him. He obediently ran into her arms but ignored her questions as he stared at his father. He was dressed in the uniform that he had often played with at home. He admired the handsome and formidable picture his father made in the suit - Papa was going to win the war again, in that beautiful suit with its shiny medals, and then he was going to come home just as he promised he would.

He watched as his father stepped towards his mother before leaning down to whisper something into her ear. Probably something to do with the biscuit jar on top of the cabinet where they kept the nice china. Or not, he realized, as his mother suddenly pulled his father close and hugged him. Julius had never seen his father look so sad as he looked down at Maman and kissed her on the forehead. His lips were moving as he kissed her on both cheeks, but the bustle of the crowd on the platform were too loud for him to catch what was being said. He squirmed in his grandmother's arms. Suddenly, seeing how sad Papa looked, he wanted to go and hug him one last time.

"Julius, stay still, child, or you'll fall."

"I have to go to Papa," he protested. "There's something I have to give him!"

"He's speaking to your mother. You shouldn't interrupt-"

"I have to give this to him before he leaves! It's for Christmas, Grandmother! Please, let me go!"

Much to his relief, he was set on the ground. The second his shoes touched on the dirty concrete, he rushed to his father. Pulling on the leg of his trousers, he raised his arms as he silently asked to be held. His father, the indulging man that he was to his children, bent down and lifted him up so that he was the tallest man in the world and could look over the heads of everyone else.

"Papa, can you keep a promise?"

"What is it, Julius?"

"Since we can't spend this Christmas together, promise that we'll spend next Christmas together. Okay? Since you're leaving this Christmas, promise you'll come home the next one so that we can open the presents together and go to the theatre and to Mass together. Okay? Do you promise?"

Julius was too young to see the pain in his father at having to make a false promise. But his mother noticed, and tried to pull him away from his father. But he resisted and promised his son that he would definitely return the next Christmas. And then the train's whistle cut through steam and cold, and Julius was given to his mother. His father picked up his pack and gave a nod to his family before leaving to board the waiting train. The boy watched as his mother reluctantly let go of his father and wondered since when they had been holding hands. Probably since forever, he realized.

When the train began to move, he left his mother's side and ran alongside the train, searching for his father's face among the rest of the soldier's. But he couldn't find him, and his short legs couldn't carry him fast enough to keep up. Soon enough, the last car rumbled out of the station, leaving behind the wives and children of those who had gone off to fight in the Great War. Julius tried not to cry from not being able to find his father. They had made a promise. If he was good, then his father would return, safe and sound, instead one of those horrid letters he had heard about from a friend whose father had never returned from the last war. They had made a promise, and he knew that his father was a man of his word. He would fight and come home, like he always did. He would keep his promise.

He would. Julius believed with all his heart he would.

When the briefing of the senior officers ended, Lelouch opened his pack to take out a map of the country they were going to liberate, when instead, he found a pack of envelopes. Sitting down, he carefully opened them to find a letter from his sisters, his mother, his son, and his wife. C.C.'s was the longest - she went from anger towards the government for sending him off to war on Christmas Eve, to fear that this would be his last war. At the end of the six pages of cursive, she asked him to keep his son and his daughter, who had yet to be born, in mind, along with a necklace and her love.

Lelouch held the slender silver chain up in the air and stared at the two rings that dangled in the air. His wife's engagement ring and his son's infant ring. The thin gold ring that had been given to his son by his parents when he had been born stared at him, as did the diamond on the engagement ring that was flanked by a small amethyst and emerald. This was it, wasn't it? The reminder of what he had promised them. A reminder of what they had promised him. And a reminder of their love for one another.

He slipped the necklace on and tucked the promise under the collar of his jacket where it would be closer to his heart. He wouldn't forget them or his promise. He was fighting for their sake, so that they, his family, would be able to live in a free world. And for their sake, he would return home. One Christmas could slip by, two or three probably would pass before the War was over, but no matter how many Christmases it took, he'd return to his beloved family.

He had promised, and if Lelouch vi Britannia was anything, it was a man of his word.

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><p><strong>AN: I honestly have no idea where I was going with that one. Ugh, I know everyone is writing happy stuff for Christmas, but I honestly am having the worst Christmas in a long time, and I guess this is what happened. I'm sorry for being such a downer. But Merry Christmas!**


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